Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
410–400 BCE
Medium
Terracotta
Classification
Vases
Culture & Period
Greek, Attic · Classical
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Dietrich von Bothmer, Distinguished Research Curator, Greek and Roman Art, 2011
Accession Number
2011.604.1.8265
Art Historical Context
This delicate terracotta fragment from a kylix, or shallow drinking cup, dates to410–400 BCE andails from Attic Greece during the Classical period. Attributed to the Painter of London E 106 anonymous artist named after a vase in the British Museum—it exemplifies the refined red-figure technique pioneered in Athens. In this method, figures were painted in the glossy black slip that fired to red against a reserved clay background, allowing for intricate details in anatomy, drapery, and expression that black-figure pottery couldn't achieve. Kylixes like this were essential to the symposion, the ...